Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-03-13-Speech-2-199"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20070313.21.2-199"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, it gives me great pleasure to be able to present to you the new EU consumer policy strategy for 2007-2013, adopted today by the Commission. I see this as our contribution to making every citizen safe and confident everywhere in the Union. I hope this House will give its support to this goal. This is also our contribution to increasing the economic wellbeing of our citizens and the competitiveness of the EU economy.
President Barroso has therefore decided to expand the mandate of the competitiveness group of Commissioners to address the consumer dimension so that all proposals with a significant impact on consumers will in future undergo closer scrutiny.
Under our consumer policy, we see three main objectives over the next seven years. First, I want to empower Europe’s consumers. This means creating the right market conditions for them to be able to make informed, considered and original choices and equipping them with the tools to do so. Second, I want to enhance the economic and non-economic welfare of Europe’s consumers in terms of price, choice, quality and affordability. Third, I want to protect consumers effectively. Market failures for consumers fall into two categories – those that individuals cannot address and those that they should address themselves. Consumer laws should effectively protect consumers from the former and equip them to deal with the latter.
In short, I want the Commission to be able to tell all EU citizens by 2013 that they can shop anywhere in the EU, from the corner shop to the website, confident that they are equally effectively protected and to be able to tell all retailers that they can sell anywhere on the basis of a single, simple set of rules.
We are a long way from those goals now. Important progress has been made, with the help of the European Parliament: the directive on unfair commercial practices, the regulation on consumer protection cooperation and the network of European consumer centres have made significant progress. We need to complete this work and act on a number of fronts: better rules on contracts, better enforcement, information, advice and redress all need to work as well in the internal market as at home if consumers and SMEs are to be persuaded to make this leap.
Harmonised rules in targeted areas are central to an integrated market – but not to keep lawyers and bureaucrats happy. A simple clear set of rules helps SMEs, consumers and enforcers, and I am not sure it is possible to encourage consumers and SMEs to see the EU market as a truly single territory without simple rules, but harmonised rules will not create this necessary increase in current levels of consumer confidence if harmonisation is agreed in a way that provides inadequate substantive levels of protection.
My preference is for harmonised rules and good protection. This Commission has recently launched an important consultation in this area and I welcome Parliament’s opinion on these matters.
In conclusion, in such a short time I can only give a brief flavour of the strategy. I think it sets out an ambitious agenda and on that we will require Parliament’s support in order for it to be successfully delivered.
I know the importance of consumer policy to Parliament and welcome the support that has been given to consumer policy in the past. Your support for my nomination as Commissioner for Consumer Policy clearly indicated your expectations of the Commission, and I trust the strategy will be in line with your priorities.
What is important for the consumer financial programme 2007-2013, in relation to which Parliament has been a key actor in the legislative process in terms of ensuring the smooth adoption of that programme? The programme is an important tool for the delivery of the strategy, and the changes made in the programme to take account of your views have also been factored into the strategy. The strategy and, indeed, my appointment as the first Commissioner for Consumer Affairs are the beginnings of a response to the vision of this Parliament. Some of you have been calling for a stronger consumer dimension to all EU policies for some time now.
Consumer policy seems to me to be equally well placed to tackle the two big challenges the EU faces today: boosting growth and jobs, and reconnecting with our citizens.
On growth and jobs, it is clear that the internet is fundamentally changing the retail sector, but these changes have, in practice, so far been limited to national markets.
On the retail side of the internal market, we see fragmentation into 27 national mini-markets, and this is both a pity and a missed opportunity as the internal market has the potential to be the largest retail market in the world, with significant benefits to consumers and to the competitiveness of the EU economy.
Opening up cross-border retail is the key to unlocking the full potential of the internal market. If cross-border shopping becomes a credible alternative to domestic shopping, then competitive pressure will increase, not only in cross-border shopping but also in domestic retail markets. The integration effect does not require all, or even most, consumers to do most of their shopping across borders. Our experience in removing obstacles to the cross-border sale of new vehicles shows that it is enough for cross-border shopping to be a credible alternative for competition to be enhanced in the domestic markets. This would be good for growth and jobs.
However, we need a strategy that also responds directly to the aspirations of all our citizens. For them, an active consumer policy should be a central part of our efforts to show that they can improve their daily lives by taking advantage of opportunities created by Europe in terms of broader markets, lower prices and guaranteed rights and protection.
Putting consumers at the heart of all EU policies and regulations is important. This is not just about a narrow consumer policy strip of European policy; the strategy commits us all, in Parliament as well as in the Commission, to look harder at all EU policies to be sure that we have properly taken account of the impact of consumers and have adjusted policies to maximise their benefits."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples